HAZEL Blears is facing a new challenge after surviving a vote of no confidence, the M.E.N. can reveal today.

Union boss and `people's champion' Alec McFadden , is poised to stand against her at the next election.

He made his name fighting for staff who lost their jobs when The Accident Group collapsed. The news came hours after Ms Blears emerged, bruised but unbowed, from an angry meeting of the Salford and Eccles Constituency Labour Party where a bid was made to oust her as their candidate. Delegates voted 33 to 12 in favour of the former Communities Secretary - with one abstention - after heated exchanges.

Independent

Mr McFadden, boss of the Salford Unemployed and Community Resource Centre and president of the Merseyside TUC, would seek election as an independent.

He could pose a serious threat to Ms Blears due to his connections with numerous organisations in Salford.

Mr McFadden said: "A number of political parties and community activists have approached me because of concern that if Hazel Blears is the Labour candidate in the next General Election the seat could be lost to the BNP or the Conservatives.

“Because of that I am seriously considering standing as a socialist/community candidate.”

Coalition

Mr McFadden is a high-profile, anti-fascist campaigner and stood as a candidate for the No to EU Yes to Democracy group at the European elections this month. The group is a coalition of trade unionists, political parties, and other groups.

Mr McFadden fought for compensation for staff who lost their jobs when The Accident Group, the compensation-claims company headed by the late Mark Langford, went bust.

He said: “I was a candidate in the Euro elections and regionally the group I was standing for got 23,580 votes – that was just after ten weeks of campaigning.

“ If I took on Blears I would have ten months to campaign. However I would not stand if Ian Stewart, the current Eccles Labour MP, who will lose his seat due to boundary changes, was chosen to replace Ms Blears as Labour’s candidate.

“I have worked in Salford for 15 years and have genuine local links.”

Disrepute

Ms Blears came in for strong criticism at the last night’s meeting from former Salford council leader , Swinton-based, Bill Hinds.

He said she had brought the Labour Party into disrepute with her controversial expenses claims and her decision to quit government on the eve of the Euro elections.

He proposed that the entire membership of the CLP should be consulted on her future – not just delegates – but was voted down.

Ms Blears said later she wanted to put the furore over her decision to quit the cabinet behind her. She said: “My top priority is to be a champion for Salford people and campaign for Labour.”

She said. “Salford is a Labour city, and we must expose what the Tory policies would mean for Salford people.

“What I’m pleased about is that the party decided it has got the confidence in me as a member of parliament. They want me to go towards the next election, and we will have a lot of work to do and I recognise that entirely.

Record

“Look at my record. We’ve regenerated Langworthy and Ordsall, we’ve got MediaCity and new jobs, but there is still a lot more to do.

“Let’s talk about the issues and for goodness sake let’s drop this politics of personality.”

Last week, Ms Blears gave a frank interview to the M.E.N. and apologised for her ‘cruel’ – ‘YouTube if you want to’ - joke about Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s attempt to boost popularity with a video on the website sharing site. She also said she regretted a brooch saying ‘Rocking the Boat’ on the day after she quit the government.

Councillor Norman Owen, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Salford, and known locally as ‘Stormin Norman’ for his straight talking approach will stand against Ms Blears for a third time. He has a strong base of local support as his party has captured inner-city council seats.

Coun Owen said: “I am the obvious choice to replace Blears. I have worked hard for this opportunity for 20 years.”